Projects in Warwick District need your votes

Projects in the Warwick District need your votes to help them be in with the chance of winning grants.

Over the last few weeks The Courier has been running stories about local projects that have been appealing to the public for their votes.

The projects have all submitted grant applications to the Aviva Community Fund, which helps hundreds of projects in the UK every year.

Groups, charities and organisations can submit their projects for funding, which then go to a voting stage.

If a project gets a high amount of votes from the public the project could go to the finals, where a panel of judges will award the grants.

The Hatton Park WI have applied to the Aviva Community Fund for a £1,000 grant towards their £2,000 target to help pay for a defibrillator that would be installed at the village hall.

Helen Greenly, who is treasurer of the Hatton Park WI, said: “Hatton Park is a big development that houses about 750 families and we have no defibrillator.

“Our WI group has been established for more than 10 years.

“We have decided that something needed to be done so we have decided to raise money to buy a defibrillator that will benefit the whole community.”

The defibrillator will cost around £2,000 so we are hoping if we get the grant we can raise the rest with our Christmas fair on December 3.

The Birth and Babies Appeal, which aims to raise £200,000 for Warwick Hospital’s new midwifery led birthing centre, has also applied for a grant from the fund.

The dedicated Midwifery Led Unit, which is due to open in Spring 2018, will offer expectant parents the opportunity to have their babies in a more ‘homely’ setting.

This unit will be the only one of its kind in Warwickshire and it will feature its own entrance, four birthing rooms that will each have a birthing pool.

So far the appeal has raised more than £36,000 towards the total.

The staff behind the appeal have applied to the Aviva Community Fund in a bid to get a grant of £2,800 for cooling fans for the rooms in the birthing centre.

The volunteers behind the Leamington Winter Support (LWS) Night Shelter, which is currently at the Prior’s Club in Tower Street, Leamington, have also submitted a project to the Aviva Community Fund in the hopes that they can get a grant for £25,000.

Since its establishment in the winter of 2015, LWS Night Shelter has temporarily been based in the Priors Club building, thanks to the kindness of the owner, but the planned redevelopment of the site means the shelter needs to relocate to a permanent premises.

A building has now been secured for the shelter’s new home with a condition that the organisation raises £60,000 for the necessary refurbishment and renovation.

LWS provides food, shelter and company for the homeless and vulnerably housed people in the Warwick district.

A spokesperson for the LWS team said: “Following on from our fantastic week of campaigning for World Homeless Day, we at LWS Night Shelter would like to announce that we have been shortlisted by the Aviva Community Fund to receive a grant of up to £25,000.

“All you need to do in order to help is to vote for us - it’s completely free of charge, and takes 30 seconds via Facebook.

“The grant from the Aviva Community Fund will put a huge dent in our target, and will make sure we’re well on the way to ensuring we can continue to provide shelter, warmth, and a good meal to our guests for years to come.”

To vote for the above projects click here and search for Hatton Park, Birth and Babies and Leamington